A world untouched
Waiting to be pillaged
This is where the old gods
Took their form on a microscopic level
Growing and changing until
Omnipresence became a constant
Their appearance was translucent
And their shape
Had evolved from an amoeba
To a rather tall jellyfish in height
Without the bothersome tentacles
Their voices were deep and intrusive
They retreated from the oceans
To the far mountains of the North
Where the deep and incredibly high
Waterfalls fell always into
Luxurious crystal clear aquamarine pools
Where they gathered for Congress
The ancient ones let the planet evolve
Rarely acknowledging their worshippers
But occasionally one person
Would stand out demanding
Their undivided attention
And Ellison,
Was one of those immaculate beings
Her plight was a sin against the great ones
For her father was a priest of his clan
His betrayal was a direct result
Of a commandment ordained
As she steadied herself
In the dense tree canopy
Her skin began to glimmer
Becoming translucent
Like the gods of old
She stared in wonderment
At the new gift bestowed upon her
With great reverence and gratitude
She waited until the darkness
Devoured every inch
Of the humid forest
Very slowly she climbed down
Damp grass squished beneath
Her feet and between her toes
Her journey North had begun
Over time she realized
The old ones have given
Her unimaginable strength
Her height and size had grown
She was much stronger
Than any male werewolf
She could casually destroy them all
One by one, taking her time
If she chose, but cruelty didn't beat
Within her lonesome heart
For she had found her
Lover amongst the wreckage
Tall, handsome, and kind
He was a lumberjack
That sometimes worked
At a construction store
Helping the local hillbillies
Rumors began to swirl
Through the rebellious community
That indeed Ellison and her twins
Had survived somehow
For when the forest floor was searched
Her remains were never found
And her assailant was viciously hunted
And ripped to pieces
By the sharp fangs and claws
Of the archaic clan
Ellison knew her time was limited
Before every werewolf discovered her
So she trekked through the thick snow drifts
To the council of the gods
Her visit was a brief distraction
From the chaos waiting to ensue
The gods agreed
To briefly erase her family's memories
Keeping them safe perpetually
In a false world
Until balance and safety
Could be restored
Her family now thought
She had died years ago
In a horrific car accident
Years had passed
And Ellison watched with great curiosity
As her children slowly grew strong,
High-spirited, full of laughter
And rare unbridled happiness
That she never knew
She missed them so dearly
Her heart ached with physical pain
Often she crept high in the rafters
Guarding her children and husband
Keeping them safe from impending doom
Christmas had arrived
And even the werewolves were jolly
And full of hope for the winter solstice
Decorating the giant warehouse
Which resembled a Home Depot
With an exceptionally cheerful color pallette
For season's greetings
There was a large inflatable snow globe
Which gave the children
Delightful joy of Christmas cheer
And a giant Douglas fir tree
Decorated with playful ornaments
Sealed atop the tree was a full moon
With a star within
Eight long years of surviving
Without her family, it had taken its toll
Occasionally, Ellison on purpose
Made noise and flung products
From the rafters
To let her family know she was there
And although, the werewolves working below
Couldn't see her causing trouble
They all knew something was amiss
Their ears perked up while their eyes
Grew sharper and glowed a deep crimson
One by one they went up
The industrial metal shelving of the store
Began shaking with all the weight
Crawling on all fours trying to find
The foreign intruder
Disturbing their festive atmosphere
Ellison continued to evade, elude,
Staying consistently cloaked
Each snarling wolf that came her way
Construction tools, products, and equipment
Of all kinds
Continually flew off the shelves
She rested a while, exhausted and frustrated
The time had come for war
To save her family
She so desperately missed, needed, and loved
She must destroy any wolf
That threatened her peace and
Her family's freedom
The werewolves were confused
And quite baffled as to why
This intruder remain elusive
This had never happened in their history
Only vague folktales hinted at such
A complicated annoyance
The gods must be consulted
After a few short nights
They came back to their store
Bigger than ever
The gods had granted them
Powers to defeat their enemy
They fought Ellison constantly for days
Yet no fangs nor claws
Could touch her, it was a struggle
They didn't anticipate nor understand
Suddenly she jumped down from the rafters
Gathering her husband and children
Ushering them quickly to his truck
An old red fifties clunker
Awaking from a long slumber
Her husband and children instantly recognized her
They were almost free
When the rushing of water filled their ears
The immense dam holding back a river
Larger than the Missouri had broken
Ellison put the truck into gear and sped off
As fast as she could
Water broke through a vast
Cinder block wall
Flooding the store and street
All of the other werewolves
We're drown, slaughtered, and pulverized
In that catastrophic moment
Ellison and her family
Escaped in the nick of time
I stood overlooking
The immense destruction
I had been summoned consistently
To tell their unspoken stories
Of another decrepitly.forgotten realm
An ancient god stood by my side
Asking me one question,
"Will we win this war we’ve started?"
Without hesitation, prevailing no expression
I answered confidently and replied, "No."
At the point, I was once again
Tethered to the Earth
I was dismissed as a prophet
For giving a translucent ancient being
That resembled a blob of frog eggs
An answer he couldn't quite comprehend
For all the power he held within his being
He never dared to asked me
Why they would lose
A war they had orchestrated so carefully
The belligerent egomaniac
Had forgotten about hope
Hope, conquers all resistance
And it's incredibly patient as water
The god had simply forgotten his origins
Optimistic idealism always prevails
In the darkest hour of a cryptic eclipse
When it's least expected
Surging pass hostility’s measures
To preserve peace ©
Written 9.22.25, Edited 5.14.26
Karen L. Fleming
